Worship and the "A" Word

A member of our congregation recently told me how much she appreciates the organ postlude each week at the 11 AM service. She explained how it was, for her, a final act of worship every week. The same day another member fussed in a good-natured way that it was hard to carry on a decent conversation in the sanctuary after worship with all that racket from the organ! In the next few paragraphs I’d like to address the matter of the place of the postlude in worship and our response to it, and the more particular matter of how to respond after the postlude and other elements of worship that are meaningful to us.

I am just old enough to have experienced worship as a child in two very different ways. In one church we attended, a band played loud rock-style music before and after worship, and folks clapped and sang and danced along, and even talked (albeit loudly!) with one another during the music. In another church, one entered quietly and reverently. The loudest sound I ever heard there was the “thud” of a dropped hymnal! Thus, I am absolutely of two minds on the matter of applause in worship.

There is scriptural affirmation for either approach to worship. Psalm 47 begins, “O clap your hands all you peoples, shout to God with loud songs of joy.” Habakkuk 2.20 reads, “The Lord is in his holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.” In rural eastern NC where I worked for a while, it was customary, where applause was a part of worship, to give a “clap offering to the Lord,” in appreciation for something that took place in worship. What a wonderful spin on the notion of applause in church! This was also a region of the state, however, that even Lutherans might be heard to exclaim, “Amen!” if they happened to feel a strong emotion in worship. Rest assured, I know that applause offered in worship is not offered in affirmation of the ones who have “done something” in worship, but is offered to God in thanksgiving. Know also that your organist and other musicians are not reliant upon applause as an affirmation of what they have done. We are content with having made our best, most faithful musical offering to God for its own sake.
Some of you heard my own son, Briggs, recently complain as he was being dragged into the Sunday service during the organ prelude, “I hate that music!” I and your other church musicians have no illusions about their relative place in the grand scheme of worship. Likewise, I have been around enough to know that for many, the postlude is the signal for the talking to begin. The musicians involved in worship know that fellowship and hospitality are vital components to our common life. As an organist, I am gratified by those who don’t charge the doors to begin their conversations, but rather linger in the sanctuary and overhear the music, even if they don’t actively listen to it. I am humbled by those who remain engaged with the last organ piece as an act of worship. If you will allow me the freedom to select music for the postlude that seems to fit the theme and tenor of the day, I will gratefully acknowledge your freedom to remain and prayerfully listen to the postlude as the final element of the worship service, or to linger and talk with friends in the sanctuary, or to move into the narthex and greet one another in Christian hospitality.

I would never want to mandate that everyone be seated to listen to the organ postlude. I also want us to remain sensitive to those who view that musical offering as one last act of worship each week. Please just keep in mind that worship is still going on for some. If you see someone seated nearby not talking, it may be they are concluding their worship. If you conversation gets boisterous, you might want to move away so as not to disturb. Without drawing attention to yourself or the persons still in worship, simply make your way toward the narthex. If worship for you is not concluded until after the postlude, you may want to consider making your way to the choir loft as the postlude begins. Make yourself at home and have a seat while the postlude continues.

We are a community of faith, a richly diverse community. No one model for worship is going to accommodate the variety of worship experiences we desire. If we can be sensitive to one another in our preferences, we may learn from each other about the variety of possibilities as pertains to our Sunday worship.

Note: Imagine this: we are not the first church to deal with this issue! Here is a link to a vigorous discussion among choral music professionals. Church organists have weighed in on the topic also. Surf to this search engine; enter "applause postlude" in the first blank; execute the search and see what a few organists have had to day.